Shropshire Star

True grit as Shropshire teams keep routes clear

They've been working every hour of the day since Thursday to make sure that residents are safe on the road.

Published
The gritting operations nerve centre at Telford & Wrekin Council's Addenbrooke House

More than 30 Telford & Wrekin Council employees have been on 15 trips delivering 1,050 tonnes of grit to the borough's 422 kilometres of road. Contractors were also out in force in an effort to keep motorists moving.

It is an operation replicated in Shropshire and Mid Wales as the region creaked under the pressure of the big freeze.

Today members of the council in Telford thanked those behind the mammoth effort for going above and beyond in the wake of record snowfall.

Management Group Manager Matthew Powell at the gritting operations nerve centre

It comes as Highways England spoke of the "Herculean effort" they faced as temperature plummeted over the weekend.

Angela McClements, Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said: “We’d like to thank council teams who have been working non-stop since Thursday night and everyone who has rallied together during this prolonged spell of very severe weather.

“We’ve had more than 50 people come forward to become snow wardens helping to clear drives and footpaths for people who are less able and while the conditions have been difficult it is great to see how the community pulls together at times like these.

“We are doing all we can with the resources we have to keep the roads as safe as possible, keep grit bins topped up and support the most vulnerable people in the community.”

The council also enlisted the help of qualified contractors and local farmers with tractors, who have been helping council teams with special requests including clearing footpaths around nursing homes.

Grounds maintenance teams unable to carry out normal tasks such as littler picking are helping to grit other areas including footpaths for safe routes to school and doctors’ surgeries.

A further 1,000 tonnes of salt is on its way to Telford to make sure the salt barn is fully stocked again for the Christmas and New Year period.

Frank Bird, Emergency Planning Officer at Highways England, said that the 4,000 tons of salt used since the snow started last weekend was more than through the rest of December and November combined.

He went on: "The Highways England network is coping well due to the Herculean effort of our staff over the last 48 hours.

"We have had extra vehicles out, especially on Sunday, and brought vehicles from the North West as far down as around the M54.

"Our guys, particularly on Sunday, were doing three hour shifts, then when they got back to the depot they would get a bacon sandwich, a cup of tea or coffee, a welfare break and then they were back out again, and that went on for almost 24 hours."

Mr Bird said they had learned lessons from previous cold snaps.

"The reason why so much of the road network has remained drivable is down to the effort of the 56 or so guys and gals driving the wagons on Sunday," he said.

"We planned for this, and we learned a lot of lessons from 2010. This time the worst delay we have had on the roads was 55 minutes.

"The lowest recorded temperature in Shropshire was -8.7 degrees, at a spot on the A49."

Mr Bird also explained why there is sometimes a perception that grit wagons don't get around as much as they should.

He said: "People complain that they don't see the gritters, but they do routes of about 40 to 45 miles, so if you just miss one it might be a few hours before you see it again.

"The most difficult thing is when the snow is falling behind you just as you've cleared it which can also be frustrating."